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computing the monthly compensation if the result of taking such compensation into account in such computation would be to diminish his annuity."

SEC. 4. Section 2(e) of such Act is amended by striking out "than an amount" and inserting in lieu thereof "than 110 per centum of an amount".

SEC. 5. All recertifications required by reason of any amendments made by this Act shall be made by the Railroad Retirement Board without application therefor.

Senator MORSE. Do you have anything further?

Mr. STACK. That concludes my statement.

Senator MORSE. Will you also supply the subcommittee some information in regard to your organization.

First, when did you retire from railroad employment? How long have you been retired from railroad employment?

Mr. STACK. I have not retired.

I was 38 years with the railroad.

Senator MORSE. And you are still with them? You are still working?

Mr. STACK. No. I am with the Pension Forum for the last 12 years.

Senator MORSE. You misunderstood my question.
When did you retire from active duty?

Mr. STACK. I left the railroad in March 1949.

Senator MORSE. That is just for the purpose of the record, because there are other members of the subcommittee who are not here.

I want you to supply the record with a memorandum, in addition to the one on the Dorn bill, that gives your personal history, so to speak, from the standpoint of employment. That is all I am interested in.

The thing I want to know about you for the record is what railroad you worked for, when you retired; I also want you to add that information for the record for the other officials and officers of your organization, the National Railroad Pension Forum, so that we can have all that. Do you have that in written form?

Mr. STACK. Mr. Chairman, we have the Pension News here with all the officers on there and the roads they are connected with.

Senator MORSE. I want a so-called personnel sheet in regard to each one of them. I want to know what railroad he worked for, how long, and when he retired.

Mr. STACK. We will furnish that information.

Senator MORSE. Mr. Byrnes, would you like to make a statement? Mr. BYRNES. Just that I would like to corroborate as much as possible what Mr. Stack has said; and I think that one of the things in my own personal experience-I am now a retired man from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad-I knew many men in Baltimore and in Cincinnati, especially, who would like to have retired from the railroad and still work because of that "last employer" clause.

The "last employer" clause was designed, I imagine, in the depression time of 1934 to keep a man from holding two jobs.

At the present time, many men over 70 years of age retain little jobs in building and loan associations, Masonic lodges, churches, as secretaries or something, and I think that should be eliminated.

Senator MORSE. Mr. Stack, in addition to the information that I have just authorized you to file for the record, you must understand that you are also privileged to file any other memorandums for the

record in this hearing that you made in representations connected with other boards, carriers, and other spokesmen of the brotherhoods; that material will have to be made available promptly.

We are going to recess now until February 18 at 10 a.m., at which time the carriers will proceed to present their case.

It may be necessary to meet also on February 19 for rebuttal, and I will then keep the record open for the rest of that week for the inclusion of any more material that any of the parties may wish to put into the record.

Mr. STACK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

(Mr. Stack subsequently submitted the following:)

Hon. WAYNE MORSE,

U.S. Senate,

Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

FEBRUARY 19, 1959.

DEAR SENATOR MORSE: I attended all hearings on pending railroad retirement legislation before the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee and before your subcommittee in the Senate.

One of the most vital points in connection with the present alleged deficit in the railroad retirement fund is predicated entirely on an actuarial survey made last year. Might I bring to your attention the fact that in the interim the railroad retirement system was the beneficiary of great windfalls of credit from the social security trust fund. This was effective on and after January 1, 1959, when the social security system put into effect the 7 percent increase in annuities.

In view of the fact that all railroad employees are reinsured under social security it happens that that system finances the initial cost of all railroad retirement benefits. As of December 31, 1958, some 80,000 railroaders and their survivors, under the guarantee provision of the Railroad Retirement Act, were having their benefits paid in full by social security funds, whereas, effective January 1, 1959, with the 7 percent increase in social security benefits, some 280,000 railroaders and their survivors were put in this category. Their benefits are being paid in full by funds from the social security system, thereby relieving the railroad retirement fund of all financial expenses in connection with this large number of beneficiaries. The evaluation of this situation will not be manifest until the financial interchange is completed at the end of the fiscal year.

I would like to comment on the committee print which made its appearance before the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee at the Railroad Retirement hearings. The figures shown therein indicated quite a discrepancy between railroad retirement benefits and those possible under the social security system.

In my opinion, this print was put out for the sole purpose of misleading the Members of Congress and the railroad employees into the belief that railroad retirement benefits were exceedingly greater than those provided under the social security system. For example, the print shows the maximum benefit, today, under railroad retirement at $185.60; and for social security, $116, which is the maximum under that system.

On the print it is also shown that in 1969-10 years hence-railroad retirement benefits will be increased to $205.30, whereas social security benefits will be raised to $124; and in 1979, 20 years hence, railroad retirement will pay $273.90 and social security will pay $125. On the print, these increases in both acts are predicated as they are today. The print figures make no changes whatever in the Social Security Act. We know, from past experience, that in every major election year the social security benefits have been increased and there is no moratorium in this provision.

You will recall that the initial maximum benefits in social security were only $50, whereas, today $116 is the maximum, which is about 132 percent increase. During the first decade of the railroad retirement system the maximum annuity was $120 while today it is $185.60, or only less than 55 percent increase. From our experience of the continued tendency to ever increase social security benefits under the pressure of political expediency we know that such figures as are presented in the committee print cannot be accepted as conclusive. It

is easy to believe that before the passage of another 20 years the maximum benefits paid by social security will equal if not exceed those paid by the railroad retirement system. All this, too, at a much lower cost to the workers and to their employers in the way of taxes. During the same period the tax cost for those who have to depend upon railroad retirement will increase with no equitable benefits promised for the greater tax payment.

I think th se observations will prove helpful to the members of your committee, Senator Morse, in the interest of their voting out a bill that will be equitable to those whom we serve.

Sincerely yours,

THOMAS G. STACK,

President, National Railroad Pension Forum, Inc.

NATIONAL RAILROAD PENSION FORUM, INC.

RAILROAD SERVICE HISTORY OF OFFICER PERSONNEL

President, Thomas G. Stack: Employed by Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad from November 1, 1920, to March 31, 1949, as rate analysist in the general office of the overcharge claim department.

Prior to 1920 was employed for the previous 9 years on various railroads including the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Illinois Central, and the Chicago Junction, in all, comprising more than 38 years of railroad service.

Vice president, Harry L. Stahl: Employed for more than 50 years on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and Puget Sound Railroad. Retired in 1958. Started service as a clerk and terminated services as assistant paymaster.

Vice president, Bert Beedy: Employed for 37 years and 9 months in the interline cepartment of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. Still in rail service.

Vice president, Paul Brandley: Employed for 38 years with the Pennsylvania Railroad in freight traffic department. Still in rail service.

Vice president, Thomas C. Doody: Employed for 32 years by the Elgin, Joliet, & Fastern Railroad. Still in rail service.

Vice president, Walter F. Kirchhoff: Employed by the Chicago & Northwestern as assistant mechanical engineer for 42 years. Now retired.

Advisory board member, G. N. Finnegan: Employed by the Illinois Central Railroad as chief clerk in signal department for 31 years. Still in rail service. Advisory board member, Anthony Marino: Employed for 45 years with the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in the freight solicitation department and with other railroads for 5 previous years. Still in rail service.

Advisory board member, Joseph Pifke: Employed by the the Pullman Co. since 1926-total 33 years, and still in rail service.

Advisory board member, John Calderone: Employed for 40 years with the Associated Western Railroad Committee. Still in rail service.

Secretary and treasurer, Richard Nack: Employed for 26 years with the Eastern Weighing and Inspection Bureau, and 14 years of prior rail service with the Indiana Harbor Belt and the New York Central Railroads. Still in rail service. Editor, Rail Pension News, Walt Sands: Employed over 30 years by Eastern Weighing and Inspection Bureau as an inspector and 10 years prior rail service with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Still in service.

Regional vice president: Robert B. Byrnes: Employed 37 years and 9 months by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and 9 years previous railroad service. Now retired.

Regional vice president, William E. Kane; 48 years service: Employed for over 30 years by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad in freight solicitation department. Still in rail service. Actual time from 1911 to the present time.

Regional vice president, Mrs. Mary McElree: Employed for past 34 years with the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Still in rail service.

Regional vice president, Harry Warner: Employed for over 40 years with the Savannah & Atlanta Railroad. Now retired.

HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL RAILROAD FORUM, INC.

The National Railroad Pension Forum was first organized as a committee in 1946 following the enactment of the Crosser amendments to the Railroad Retirement Act. These amendments were almost universally resented by railroad

workers all over America and there was a strong demand to have them repealed in Congress.

On October 10, 1947, the organization was chartered under the laws of the State of Illinois as the National Railroad Pension Forum, Inc., a nonprofit corporation to foster the education of railroad workers to a better understanding of their rights under the Railroad Retirement Act, to seek their views on a more equitable pension plan, and to try to convince Congress of the injustices which the act in its newer form was inflicting upon them.

Shortly after the approval of the charter, I, Thomas G. Stack, was elected president by the committee assembled at a special meeting held in downtown Chicago at which were present some 47 railroadmen, all of whom were strongly opposed to the unjust provisions of the recently enacted Crosser amendments.

As the active director of the affairs of this organization I labored ceaselessly during the hours that I was free from my railroad job. I served entirely without pay or without remuneration of any kind. From time to time it became necessary for me to journey to Washington to attend congressional hearings and to present testimony in an effort to undo some of the pitiful wrongs then being done to many poor rail workers as a result of the operation of the Crosser amendments. At such times I either used my vacation time or applied for and obtained short leaves of absence from my job on the Rock Island Railroad. My traveling expenses and my board and lodgings while away from Chicago were borne by the National Railroad Pension Forum.

Early in 1949 I served notice on the Rock Island Railroad that I would leave their service at the end of March, since the volume of work then connected with the administration of the affairs of the forum had reached such enormous proportions that the work now required my full-time service.

On April 1, 1949, I entered full-time service as president of the National Railroad Pension Forum, Inc., at approximately the same salary that I had received from the Rock Island Railroad Co. from my job as rate analyst in the overcharge claim department. I continued on this comparatively small salary until 2 years ago when my pay was increased to $600 a month, which is my present salary status.

My income and my expenses away from home on forum business has been duly stated, from time to time, in my lobbyist statement, which can be examined to verify my statements. These lobbyist reports are furnished to the Secretary of the Senate every quarter year.

Hoping that the above complies with your request for more information concerning the personnel comprising our group, and standing willing to furnish any further information that you might desire, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Hon. WAYNE MORSE,

U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

THOMAS G. STACK, President.

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 19, 1959.

DEAR SENATOR MORSE: When I appeared as a witness before your committee on February 10 you very graciously extended your permission for me to file supplementary information in amplification of my testimony given at that time. I am taking the liberty to present some factual information which was part of my testimony before the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee on February 5. This additional information defines the position the National Railroad Pension Forum, Inc., takes on railroad retirement bills now before the two Houses of Congress, and illustrates why these bills contain the provisions we seek.

In my House brief I have commented on H.R. 1012, which is similar to your S. 226, and I am hoping that you will consider my views, carefully, and make them a part of the Senate record.

On page 4 of my brief, in the final paragraph, I made some critical comments about the new safety department recently established by the Railroad Retirement Board. At the time I wrote this criticism I believed that this operation would involve the use of the tax contribution being made by railroad wage earners. I have since learned that the $30,000 already appropriated by the congressional committee as the initial cost of this feature is chargeable to the railroad unemployment insurance fund. None of the money contained in that fund is contributed by the employees, so I withdraw my criticism.

However, my alarm over the additional money to be expended was brought about by the fact that the operation of the Railroad Retirement Board amounted to $17,400,000 in the last fiscal year, and will soon cost considerably more because of the establishment of the new department which only duplicates the work of other Government agencies.

Since my brief, referred to above, contains some illuminating factual examples of the distress many railroaders are subjected to because of unjust provisions now contained in the Railroad Retirement Act, and some equally illustrative examples of why the benefits asked for by the members of our organization should be enacted into law, I most urgently request that you make my brief a part of your official record for the guidance of all members of your committee and for the enlightenment of all the Senators when this legislation is voted for on the floor of the Senate.

Let me take this opportunity, Senator Morse, to again express my gratitude to you.

Sincerely yours,

THOMAS G. STACK, President, National Railroad Pension Forum, Inc.

(Mr. Stack's formal statement presented to the committee follows:) STATEMENT OF THOMAS STACK IN SUPPORT OF HR. 3289 AND RELATED BILLS, and COMMENTS ON PENDING BILLS BEFORE THE HOUSE INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 4, 1959, AND THEREAFTER

Mr. Chairman, my name is Thomas Stack. I reside at 1104 West 104th Place, Chicago, Ill. I am president of the National Railroad Pension Forum, Inc., an organization chartered under the laws of the State of Illinois as a nonprofit group to educate the rail workers of this Nation on railroad retirement problems and to secure remedial action from Congress to insure their security and independence when they retire and to frame our Railroad Retirement Act in accordance with their views.

Forum membership comprises union and nonunion employees of the railroads and the retired rails who have no other representation, and all of those who come under the Railroad Retirement Act and its jurisdiction.

The National Railroad Pension Forum, Inc., is without question the largest group in this field not influenced by management of the railroads, or the leaders of the various union crafts.

We are nonpolitical and have membership on 331 railroads and affiliated bureaus which include the Pullman Co., Railway Express Agency, and the sleeping and dining car employees.

Every member of our group is a voluntary subscriber. There is no coercion used to obtain membership. Most of our members view us as the only protective committee they have which offers a hope to protect their rights and represent them under the Railroad Retirement Act, and they are unanimous in their views that only through this medium can they make known to Congress their wishes in connection with increasing benefits in accordance with their desires under our railroad retirement system.

Although forum headquarters is in Chicago, Ill., we have some 1,847 group leaders and active workers in the various railroad offices, major shops, terminals, and yards nationwide. Many of those leaders are elected by the workers to keep us informed as to their wants, and to lend counsel for the enactment of our program for the benefit of all rail workers.

In this way our group comes in closer personal contact with the employees, and we have our hand at all times on the pulse of the rail worker, thereby freely expressing their views to the various committees of Congress.

Almost 90 percent of our membership comprises members that are also members of the labor crafts, a little over 8 percent comprise retired workers who are beneficiaries under the railroad retirement system.

All forum officers are veteran railroaders, with backgrounds of long employment, hence we can truthfully term ourselves and associates as a rank-and-file group.

I had 38 years rail service behind me when I was drafted for the position I now hold in 1947, at which time certain changes were made in our Railroad Retirement Act that were ill advised and deemed detrimental to the interests of

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